Vikings QB Donovan McNabb has history of success against Cardinals
Oct 5, 2011, 8:28 PM | Updated: 10:54 pm
The Cardinals, 0-2 on the road this season, travel to
Minnesota Sunday for a game with the Vikings, but playing
away from home may not be the team’s biggest problem.
Donovan McNabb, who is the Vikings starting quarterback —
for the moment, at least — has enjoyed plenty of success
against the Cardinals in his career.
McNabb has a 3-2 record against the Cardinals in the
regular season, and is 0-1 in the playoffs, with every
game coming when the QB was with the Eagles. One of the
losses shouldn’t really count since it was McNabb’s fourth
NFL start during his rookie season in 1999.
Of course the most memorable battle, at least for
Cardinals fans, was the 2008 NFC Championship game, which
the Cardinals won 32-25. You can’t really blame McNabb,
though, as he passed for 375 yards and three touchdowns.
So even though his record isn’t perfect, the quarterback’s
individual success has not been limited.
In just six games against the Cardinals, McNabb has thrown
16 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions, averaging 247
yards a game. In comparison, last season the Cardinals
only threw for 10 touchdowns all season and averaged 182
yards per game.
The most memorable of those six games came in 2002, when
McNabb was sacked early in the first quarter and left the
game with a right leg injury. McNabb went to the locker
room to have his right ankle taped and came back out for
the Eagles next drive. It was originally reported that he
had an ankle sprain, but x-rays after the game revealed
that McNabb had broken his fibula in three places. McNabb
threw for four touchdowns and 255 yards in the game.
McNabb has struggled this season, only averaging 156 yards
a game, but is going up against the 26th ranked pass
defense.
So if the past is any indication McNabb could have his
breakout game as Viking Sunday.
